ROANOKE, Va. – In February, a woman was struck and killed while riding her bicycle in Botetourt County. A group in Roanoke is attempting to make certain that anything similar to what took place with Tabitha Thompson will never take place again.
“But it brought a lot of people together to start thinking about how could this happen and how can we prevent this sort of thing,” said Pedal Safe ROA Board Member Allen Henry.
Henry has spent the last two decades riding his bike around the valley.
In the star city, there is a brand new advocacy organization called Pedal Safe ROA.
“We plan to influence the discussion on how we can improve traffic safety for all users, and it’s important to emphasize that everybody has the right to use our traffic infrastructure safely,” explained Henry.
The most recent figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that the number of people killed while riding their bicycles in traffic grew by 58% between the years of 2010 and 2021.
“We think that it’s unacceptable that cyclists frequently don’t feel safe riding on the roads,” added Henry.
Everyone would benefit from making roadways more bike-friendly.
“It makes the streets less crowded. It also promotes a healthy lifestyle,” said Henry. “That by the way with high gas prices limits people’s financial burden. It promotes Roanoke as a biking-friendly location.”
The city’s application for a federal planning grant was strengthened with the assistance of Pedal Safe ROA. If the city’s request is granted, it will be eligible to seek additional federal funds that have been set aside in the law to improve infrastructure for urban pedestrian and bicycle safety initiatives.
“So that’s a big win,” said Henry.
On Sunday, the members of the board participated in a celebration and presented the organization to the community.
“We’re just looking for people who share our vision of safe transportation infrastructure,” explained Henry.
If that sounds like you, click here to sign up.
